re: I have a quiet envy of religious people

I suggest the poster read Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.

It's hard these days. It was a lot easier even 10 years ago.

Use to have religious leaders I can trust. Now, I don't even trust the leaders of my own church.

quote:

---

But I have seen too much shite (historically and contemporaneously) to think He's actively involved today.

---

I don't really know what that means for God to be "actively involved," but if you are as smart as you act like you think you are, surely it would have occurred to you that your judgement of what constitutes "shite" is of no actual objective consequence.

In other words, "I've seen too many immoral things to believe that God cares," rests upon the notion that without a transcendent moral authority—whose will can be known, at least partially—things can still be "immoral" in any objective way consistent with how we commonly use that term.

It should be obvious that that is a fallacy.

Things can't really be moral or immoral beyond the level of pure individual preference without a transcendent moral authority. And if we know enough about God to at least partially know His will regarding morality, then He can't be said to be completely uninvolved.

Now if that means something else...such as that the hand of God is not guiding world events, that is a whole other discussion.

I still suspect a troll here. This is "Does God exist? 101" stuff.

quote:

---

Use to have religious leaders I can trust. Now, I don't even trust the leaders of my own church.

---

There’s only one Man you need to trust.
The names that God calls you are the only ones to which you need to answer.

Pray, and get some rest.
God is handling it.

quote:

---

You can’t choose to believe in something. I grew up religious. Wish I still believed. Don’t.

---

Not sure this is true.

The older I get, the more I believe that we in fact do chose what we believe, way more often than we are able to admit or even realize.

I don't think it's a conscious choice, but I do believe it's a choice.

quote:

---

Im not the best Christian

---

No such thing.
We’re all sinners; we’re all forgiven.

quote:

---

Belief is perhaps one of the few pure choices we have.

---

Nah. I disagree

quote:

---

Too rational. Too questioning. Too doubtful.

The burden of multiple degrees and the life of an *intellectual."

But, congratulations to you.

---

Too self centered. You have no idea how your brain even functions yet you think you are too smart to accept something greater than yourself.

You don’t even know what makes your heart beat!

You’re not alone.

quote:

---

And finally, that Truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:

---

Thomas Jefferson - The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom